Best distance for ironing out pistol shooting problems

[josquin]

Wow. That guy is a machine. I have been using a modified Weaver stance. Maybe I'll try the isosceles, too.

I sight like Hickock does, right hand hold with left eye down the sights, which makes Weaver a bit awkward.

Ahhhhhh.... another hickock45 fan. I hadn't noticed the left-eye dominant thing, although he does use a different stance. He's been shooting for a long time, and seems to have his technique pretty well worked out.

Todd J is pretty amazing. Rob Leatham, too. And The Machine on the revolver end of things is Jerry Mickulek.

Of course, these folks go through more ammo in a week than the rest of us do in a year. The rest of us mere mortals have to struggle a little.

Stuart

 

[Clubhopper]

a lot of good tips on this thread.

try applying what others have said and try shooting a .22LR pistol to start. shoot a few strings of .22 then switch over to your 9 or 45.

.22LR helps build muscle memory which will translate fabulously to other calibers. i personally start out every range session and shoot 50-100 rounds of .22LR just to work out the cobwebs then switch over to my 9, .40 and .45's.

 

[BCRider]

Wow. That guy is a machine. I have been using a modified Weaver stance. Maybe I'll try the isosceles, too.

I sight like Hickock does, right hand hold with left eye down the sights, which makes Weaver a bit awkward.

My left eye is my more clear eye thanks to some astigmatism in the right side. So for me the balanced Isoscelese stance works best as it makes it easier to turn my head a little to the right to more easily line up my left eye with the sights.

 

[Striker]

Lots of good advice.

If you are right handed, you could be putting pressure on the left grip with your finger tips. Some people tend to tighten their grip in anticipation of the shot going off.
Try forcing your strong hand finger tips into the palm of your weak hand.
Teach yourself to shoot with both eyes open.
Shoot at 15 yards.
I've been a firearms instructor for going on 20+ years and I always have shooters that stare at the target at close ranges instead of their front sight because they can see where the rounds are hitting. It's a hard habit to break once you start doing it.
The caliber of the gun you are using isn't as important as the skill and technique you use to shoot it.
Dry firing is your friend..

 

[Kevin M.]

When I started shooting, my instructor for the Black Badge course had a great little drill to increase your confidence with your gun.

Set up a target on an emty range at the backstop. Stand at 3 meters from the target. Fire two shots into a 5" circle on the target.

Now move to 5 meters. Repeat.

Now 7 meters. Keep movin back in two meter steps untill you miss a shot.

Once you miss, go closer to the target by two meters, and shoot again, then continue moving back as you make hits.

It is not a fast drill, as fast as you feel you can go while still making both hits.

Built up my confidence quickly by moving out in incriments, and when i did somthing wrong, I knew the error and backtracked to fix it.

 

[Dsiwy]

When I started shooting, my instructor for the Black Badge course had a great little drill to increase your confidence with your gun.

Set up a target on an emty range at the backstop. Stand at 3 meters from the target. Fire two shots into a 5" circle on the target.

Now move to 5 meters. Repeat.

Now 7 meters. Keep movin back in two meter steps untill you miss a shot.

Once you miss, go closer to the target by two meters, and shoot again, then continue moving back as you make hits.

It is not a fast drill, as fast as you feel you can go while still making both hits.

Built up my confidence quickly by moving out in incriments, and when i did somthing wrong, I knew the error and backtracked to fix it.

 

[FastFord58]

I'm going to try and get out to the range on Monday. I'll report back with some stuff I try and the results thereof.

 

[PH Racing]

When I started shooting, my instructor for the Black Badge course had a great little drill to increase your confidence with your gun.

Set up a target on an emty range at the backstop. Stand at 3 meters from the target. Fire two shots into a 5" circle on the target.

Now move to 5 meters. Repeat.

Now 7 meters. Keep movin back in two meter steps untill you miss a shot.

Once you miss, go closer to the target by two meters, and shoot again, then continue moving back as you make hits.

It is not a fast drill, as fast as you feel you can go while still making both hits.

Built up my confidence quickly by moving out in incriments, and when i did somthing wrong, I knew the error and backtracked to fix it.

Walk back drills are lots of fun, and very good at skill building. Try it with an 8" plate and see how far back you can get.

 

[PH Racing]

We've had good discussions on a similar topic at Brian Enos' forums based on the conclusion the 15yds was the "ultimate" distance. It started with this:
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/ind...="ultimate distance"&fromsearch=1&#entry53100